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Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Two moon bears arrive at China sanctuary in time for Christmas

Two
moon bears arrive at China sanctuary in time for Christmas
Two young moon bears are set for a very merry, and safe, Christmas in China this
year, thanks to the Sichuan Forestry Department, and Animals Asia, the animal
welfare organisation that runs the only bear sanctuary in
China.

Nicknamed Rudolph and Holly to reflect their Christmas arrival,
the two Asiatic black bears (known as “moon bears” due to the yellow crescent
shapes on their chest), are estimated to be roughly two years old. Both bears
seem to be in good physical condition, with healthy bodies and black shiny fur.
Each is estimated to weigh around 70-80kg.
The bears were found as cubs in the wild by villagers in Yibin county, in the
south-eastern part of Sichuan Province, nearly two years ago. They took the
bears in and cared for them but as the bears got bigger, they could no longer
afford the amount of food they needed. It also became more dangerous to keep the
bears once they were no longer cubs.

It is believed the villagers were
approached by traders who wanted to sell the cubs to the horrific bear bile
industry, in which bears are milked regularly for their bile, using various
painful, invasive techniques. The bile is used in traditional Chinese
medicine.

Sichuan Forestry has confiscated the bears and transferred them
to Animals Asia’s sanctuary near Chengdu, also in Sichuan Province. As Sichuan
Forestry doesn’t want to encourage people to take in bears from the wild, no
compensation was paid to the villagers.

The lucky Christmas bears have
been delivered to Animals Asia’s China Bear Rescue Centre after the long journey
from Yibin. At the sanctuary they’ll be provided with everything they need to
meet their physical and behavioural needs including veterinary care, nutritious
food, comfortable dens, environmental enrichment and access to outdoor
semi-natural enclosures.

Toby Zhang, China External Affairs Director,
Animals Asia, commented:“It was a great pleasure to work with Sichuan
Forestry to co-ordinate the transfer of these lovely young bears into the care
of Animals Asia. The logistics of the transfer were handled very well by their
team, and we are delighted to receive the bears at our
sanctuary.”

Rudolph is male, and so far is much more confident than
Holly, who is thought to be female. Due to Holly’s shyness, it has not yet been
possible to confirm the sex. For the first few days at the centre, the bears
will be kept in transport cages lined with straw and browse. This allows them to
be monitored, let them become accustomed to their new surroundings, learn to
trust the Animals Asia team, and receive their initial health
checks.

Nicola Field, Bear and Vet Team Director at Animals Asia’s China
sanctuary, commented:“The transfer of the bears went super smoothly, and
both of them are doing well. Rudolph in particular seems to have a sweet tooth,
and both he and Holly have been tucking into melon and strawberry sauce, and
also enjoying fruity ice blocks – another bear favourite! They have good
appetites and have been enthusiastically tucking into their nutritious food,
like the other bears at the sanctuary. They’re getting comfortable having made
themselves nests with straw and browse.”

Once they’ve received health
checks from the veterinary team, they’ll be moved to dens in the designated
quarantine area of the sanctuary for 45 days. After this they’ll be integrated
with the other bears, and moved to dens with access to outdoor
enclosures.

Jill Robinson MBE, Dr.med.vet. h.c., Founder and CEO, Animals
Asia, commented:“Providing a home for these two bears is the perfect
Christmas present for Animals Asia, our supporters around the world, and for the
bears themselves. We offer our heartfelt thanks to the Sichuan Forestry
Department. We’re looking forward to getting to know our new family members over
the coming weeks.”

More than 10,000 bears – mainly moon bears, but also
sun bears and brown bears – are kept on bile farms in China, and around 2,400 in
Vietnam. This cruel practice continues despite the availability of a large
number of effective and affordable herbal and synthetic
alternatives.

Most farmed bears are kept in tiny cages. In China, the
cages are sometimes so small that the bears are unable to turn around or stand
on all fours. Some bears are put into cages as cubs and never released. Bears
may be kept caged like this for up to 30 years. Most farmed bears are starved,
dehydrated and suffer from multiple diseases and malignant tumours that
ultimately kill them.

About Me

I have worked in the zoo world for over 48 years in the capacity of keeper, head keeper and curator. For information related to a zoos, zoo careers and more please see:
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